Yes you can set audacity to record your computer's output instead of microphone.

I think external is better, use your phone

No, you can record direct into your editing software. You can do more with the audio track if you use a program such as Audacity - you can manipulate it, change pitch, speed it up, or whatever. But for basic voiceover, there is no need for using Audacity. I prefer to record direct into the editing software as it makes synch issues a bit easier for me.

I have done both. I tend to like recording narration in audacity and then I can chop the clip the way I want it and it’s ready to drop in to davinci resolve. Not that it’s THE way, but I’ve gotten used to doing it that way.

There's nothing wrong with recording directly into your editing application - almost every single option you can think of will record in high quality if your settings are correct.

Make sure your audio is recording at least 44.1khz and you're in the clear (this will be the default for a vast majority of recording tools.)

Your post is a discussion, meta or collab post so it costs 0λ.

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As with the others here, I too record my audio directly into my editing software which - foe me - is Camtasia.

Your first step should be to eliminate the source of the noise. If it's your AC unit, turn it off. If it's traffic outside, put a mattress between the mic and the wall.

Second, try using a more directional mic.

After that, any remaining unwanted sound should be easily removed with the noise reduction tool. But that's not a default setting. It's an effect you have to apply after recording.

It's been referenced already but step one is to try and work out what the noise is and minimise it.

I have low level background noise and apply a noisegate. At the beginning of your recording don't say anything, just have a few seconds of nothing. After recording select that portion of the audio and look at the db levels (i.e. what's the noise level). You can use that to create your noisegate which will hopefully remove it.

This video explains it and this guy has helped me a few times with his videos

https://youtu.be/Nnk7qp2TI3I?si=XtI-hVpt5rmG3KuS

Thank you everyone for your advices so far. Seems like in general I have a lot to learn since I have no knowledge about sound engineering at all yet. Still also find this very interesting.

Could be accidentally recording from the computer's built-in microphone ? ... https://youtu.be/iyQ4nJgGHZk?&t=100

What is your recording setup?

If any tips you get don't work, you can record through Riverside and Zencastr. Both will record each of you locally so you can edit the tracks in Audacity.

You can use Voicemeeter to route both your mic audio and the call audio to a virtual input that Audacity can use as an input. It will record it all in one track, but it will record it.

Audacity is used to record the microphone locally on the computer's hard drive. You can talk on a voice chatting service such as discord or Skype or zoom and each record your own microphone with audacity. When you're done, everyone exports the audacity recording of themselves as an mp3 and sends their track to the editor, who compiles them all into one show.

Bonus tip: Zoom costs money to talk longer than 40 minutes and discord didn't have a glitch-free recording option the last time I checked. Skype has a free recording option. It's not as crisp as the audacity recording but it's a good backup in case anyone ever loses their audacity recording. Computers can crash and lose local files. Having a free cloud backup is nice.

Unless you have an interface with the capability to record their track via USB (Rodecaster Pro, Zoom PodTrak etc), then you're out of luck.

The best thing to do in this situation is to have them record their own voice on their end and send you the recording. If they don't have a mic, get them to use the recording app on their smartphone.

I used to use Audacity to record my earliest tracks, before I knew of proper (and affordable) DAWs like REAPER.

During my Audacity days, I didn't like how the plugins work as they are destructive, so I had to do my best to record everything clean, so that my final mix is clean. I could barely call it a mix as it only involved levels and reverb, but they were clean by virtue of manual effort.

However, for you, a proper DAW will help a lot. Everything is just faster, and that way you can work and learn faster as well.

A "proper" DAW (Audacity to me is more of an audio editor than a full-fledged DAW) will allow you to use plugins and effects as inserts, meaning you can turn them on and off on the fly and hear the effects immediately, unlike in Audacity where you have to process it each time. You can also easily stack and rearrange your effects and plugins unlike Audacity where you need to do a complete do-over if you happen to do your effects in the wrong order, or if you change your mind later. Audio routing is also a very powerful tool to have, and is especially useful when you learn it.

REAPER is a good one, for $60 after you have tried it out. Cakewalk is available for Windows machines for free.

What software you use has zero impact on the quality of your recordings. The musician/instrument, acoustics, microphone, and preamp in that order are all the aspects you need to worry about if you want better recordings.

I have used Audacity. A real DAW is waaay better. Get Reaper. It has a two month free trial, and is only $60. It won't make your raw recordings any better, but has shitloads of processing plugins to help polish your recordings.

Another good free DAW is cakewalk. It has some basic stock instruments, if you want to be able to add some piano and bass and drums.

The DAW youre using has minimal to no effect to the quality of the recording. Almost all of it is based on the audio source/ room’s acoustic treatment, then on the mic, then on mic preamp. Most other factors have minimal to no noticeable effect.

Yeah, but cripes. If you're gonna use it, pay for it. It's like 15 bucks a year, and half the people here probably have 2 grand in plugins.

Looking forward to seeing audio engineers heads explode over this post

Change the input to Windows WASAPI. This article (or any other one) will https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/www.howtogeek.com/217348/how-to-record-the-sound-coming-from-your-pc-even-without-stereo-mix/amp/

Depends on what the issues you're experiencing are. What are you looking for in the word "better"? Is there something you wish would happen faster? Something that's missing from Audacity?

If it ain't broke, don't fix it and if you don't know what you're missing, the blissful ignorance is a boon.

Recording audio? The standard sound recorder is lightweight and free. All software records the input so there is no difference in quality.

Editing. That is a different question.

Audacity is great for editing and basic recording, especially since it’s free. But if you’re recording interviews or remote guests, I’d recommend checking out Riverside fm. It records each person locally (so no quality loss from internet issues) and uploads automatically. I still do final edits in Audacity, but having high-quality source tracks from Riverside makes a big difference.

Audacity is pretty easy for a newbie. Free too!

For a podcast, I've got a recommendation to use Riverside for the start.

In Audio Setup:

1. Set Host to Windows WASAPI

2. Set Recording Device to loopback.

Top left select Wasapi and second left select loopback

If you're on Windows ... https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/tutorial_recording_computer_playback_on_windows.html

I use Audacity to tweak sounds, I use Studio One for everything else.

Yeah I always use audacity to chop up my samples, which I then import into fl studio.

I use Audacity all the time for bulk file conversion and renaming purposes + rename x and renamer

It ain’t what ya got it’s how you use it. They made beats with two turntables and a mixer before samplers were available. I don’t use Audacity but props to you for not letting money stop you from producing.

Yes years ago